Browse great articles that highlight recent events in Occupational Therapy!

Efficacy of The Get Ready To Learn Program Amongst Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pretest- Posttest Control Group Design by Kristie Koenig, Anne Buckley-Reen, Satvika Garg

Occupational therapists use school-based yoga programs, but these interventions typically lack manualization and evidence from well-designed studies. Using an experimental pretest–posttest control group design, we examined the effectiveness of the Get Ready to Learn (GRTL) classroom yoga program among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The intervention group received the manualized yoga program daily for 16 wk, and the control group engaged in their standard morning routine. We assessed challenging behaviors with standardized measures and behavior coding before and after intervention. We completed a between-groups analysis of variance to assess differences ...Read More

Why Social Skills are Key to Learning

You may be hoping your child will learn how to read and write in the first few months of preschool or kindergarten. But there are many other skills that she needs to master before an academic focus is appropriate. Studies show that the most important skills to learn in the beginning of the year are social: cooperation, self-control, confidence, independence, curiosity, empathy, and communication...Read More

Study Finds Sensory Integration Therapy Benefits Children with Autism

A new study backs parent reports that sensory integration therapy improves daily function in children with autism. The research, led by occupational therapists at Philadelphia’s Jefferson School of Health Professions, appears online in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The study was funded by an Autism Speaks treatment research grant.

Autism’s symptoms often include difficulty processing sensory information such as textures, sounds, smells, tastes, brightness and movement. These difficulties can make ordinary situations feel overwhelming. As such, they can interfere with daily function and even isolate individuals and their families...Read More

From a biological perspective, there are many conditions and diseases with greater prevalence in women versus men or that affect women differently than men. Even with this disparity in disease prevalence, women tend to live longer than men, but they often experience fewer healthy...Read More

Bright Eyed, Bushy Tailed: Children with sensory-integration issues are aided by animal assisted therapy at ECLC of New Jersey

Patrina is not your ordinary staff member. A 5-year-old combination Labrador and golden retriever who underwent months of intensive training through the nationwide nonprofit corporation Canine Companions for Independence, she serves the special-needs students of ECLC in New Jersey...Read More

Does My Child Have A Sensory Issue?

THE CRIMINALIZATION OF NATURAL PLAY: It’s Time to Look for Solutions

In July, Slate and other news organizations reported on a mother who was charged with a crime for letting her nine-year old child play alone in a park. The daughter was taken into custody.

Stories like that keep coming, creating furor and debate in the blogosphere. Subsequent reporting sometimes reveals more factual and moral complexity than the initial headlines indicated. Still...Read More

No walls, no classrooms: London's first forest nursery school lets kids learn in the woods

LONDON — In the heart of north London lies the ancient Queens Wood, a green forest hidden away in a metropolis of more than 8 million residents. The sounds of the city seem to fade away as a group of children plays in a mud kitchen, pretending to prepare food and saw wood...Read More

Frequently Asked Questions: About Ayres Sensory Integration

Sensory integration is the process by which people register, modulate, and discriminate sensations received through the sensory systems to produce purposeful, adaptive behaviors in response to the environment...Read More

The Children & Nature Movement

Lights, Camera, Smiles: Bringing Education and Entertainment to Children in Hospitals Across the Country.

Laughing, cheering, singing and patients playing bingo. These are not things you typically associate with ill children in hospitals. But one foundation is working to create more opportunities for these sounds to be heard in pediatric hospital hallways across the country. What started as an idea over dinner became a reality for American Idol host and media entrepreneur Ryan Seacrest and his family. Together, Seacrest, his sister and his parents created the non-profit organization, Ryan Seacrest Foundation...Read More

Let’s Get Fit: Making the Case for Fully Integrated Therapy as part of OT by Zahava Friedman

Consider the following three case-studies.

Case Study 1: Jason is an adorable a five-year old boy in a self-contained kindergarten classroom. He has a diagnosis of pervasive developmentla disroder (PDD), and has a lot of trouble transitioning to and from occupational therapy. He kicks, screams, and attempts to run away any time he has to enter or leave his classroom...Read More

Beyond the Pencil: Expanding the OT’s Role in Helping Young Children to Develop Writing Skills.

AbstractOccupational therapists (OTs) play an important role in early childhood classrooms as vital members of theeducational team, particularly for young children’s writing development. Children’s emergent writing is afoundational literacy skill, which begins to develop well before they enter elementary school. However, earlychildhood classrooms are lacking in supports for early writing development. OTs are experts in guiding thedevelopment of early writing skills in young children and, therefore, should be considered as critical members of the early literacy curriculum team. This paper identifies the critical role emergent writing plays in early childhood literacy development and how to effectively assess young children’s writing ability...Read More

Your Growing Baby: Developmental Milestones for Baby

During the first year of life, your baby will grow and develop at an amazing speed. Her weight will double by 5 to 6 months, and triple by her first birthday. And she is constantly learning. Major achievements—called developmental milestones—include rolling over, sitting up, standing and possibly walking. And your heart will likely melt at the sound of her first “mama” or “dada.”...Read More

Nature is the Ultimate Sensory Experience: A Pediatric Occupational Therapist Makes the Case for Nature Therapy

When I tell people I’m a pediatric occupational therapist and that I run nature programming, a look of confusion often crosses their face. “Huh?” they say. Or, “You’re a special needs camp?” Or, “I don’t get it. You’re going to do occupational therapy with our children?”

From the beginning, I quickly realized that the concept of TimberNook is “out-of-the-box” thinking for many people. Some don’t get it at first. The concept is totally foreign to them. Typically, when people think of occupational therapy, they automatically think of children with special needs. I’ve used my skills as an occupational therapist in an unconventional manner...Read More

Growing Healthy Kids: Yoga for Kids by Sherry LeBlanc

I love teaching yoga to children. Every day I travel all over the city teaching children of all ages and abilities from different cultures and backgrounds. I meet children who are happy and carefree, serious and intense, scared, sad, easily distracted, or who need individual help to move more efficiently. I love to see the subtle and sometimes profound transformations that occur. I have marvelous and often whacky conversations that teach, tickle and inspire me...Read More